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The Serebii Fanfiction Review Exchange - BETA Model

Through an initial concept that Dragonfree has so kindly and smartly elaborated, I would like to present:

The Serebii Fanfiction Review Exchange - BETA Model

Managed by Dragonfree and Draco Malfoy

About the Review Exchange
Tired of your story's view count rising while your reply count remains stagnant? We've all wished for more reviews, but not all wishes have been granted. Also, sometimes you read a story and feel a small inkling to offer feedback, but the bug of procrastination bites you and the lack of definite reward dulls your motivation. Hence, stories get lost without much in the way of good reviews. What could you do? The solution: you exchange reviews. One review for another similar review, as a tacit but semi-formalised agreement.

This review exchange is designed to be asymmetrical. Rather than both parties agreeing to review one another in advance and then both lazing around out of fear that they're wasting their time if they review first, there are two different roles between which you can choose when participating in the exchange, each with its own costs and benefits:

Open Participation: With this type of participation, you review second, so you'll never spend time and effort reviewing someone who doesn't reciprocate; however, this also means you have an obligation to review back when someone has reviewed you, provided they followed your guidelines.

Participating openly means you make a post in this thread listing your fic(s) along with details of
- what kinds of reviews you wish to receive
- and what kind of review you will give in return
- any constraints on the fics you'll be willing to review in return
- an estimate of how long it will take you to give your return reviews.
Subsequently, one of the thread supervisors will edit a link to your post into the requests queue, below. Once in the request queue, closed participants may browse through it and decide to review your work according to your guidelines, noting in their review that they are part of the review exchange and linking to the fic they would like you to review in return. Once you have received a valid review, you will be removed from the request queue until you have written and posted a reciprocal review. When you have done so, you may PM a thread supervisor (with a link to your review) to be placed back on the request queue, and the cycle starts again.

Closed Participation: Closed participation does not require you to post in the thread or announce your intention to review in advance, giving you zero obligation; however, this is at the cost of having to review first, risking the possibility that the other person will fail to reciprocate.

All you have to do as a closed participant is to browse through the requests queue below, find a fic you want to read whose author offers the type of review you want, and then read and review their work according to their specifications, noting in your review that you came from the review exchange and linking to your own work. It is your own responsibility to make sure your review and fic meet the standards specified in the open participant's post; if you didn't read it well enough to see that they're not reviewing romance when all your fics are romance, say, that's too bad and they're not obligated to review you anyway. Once you have reviewed, you should PM a thread supervisor with a link to your review, and the author you reviewed will be temporarily taken off the requests queue until they have returned the favor.

You can play both roles if you wish; ultimately the core difference is that closed participants review first and open participants review second, and even if you're signed up to review second there is nothing stopping you from also reviewing some people first.

PROCESS (OPEN PARTICIPATION)

If you've chosen open participation, fill out this form and post it here in the thread:

Status: If you're not taking reviews at the moment, change this to CLOSED; otherwise, make it OPEN. When you receive a review and have yet to reciprocate, Dragonfree will change your status to EXCHANGING; you are not allowed to go in and edit your status from Exchanging back to Open until you've posted your return review, and anyone caught doing so may be fired from open participation in the review exchange.

Fics: Links to your stories, including a short summary and the current length of each one. Also indicate whether each story is CHAPTERED or a ONE-SHOT/TWO-SHOT.

Reviews Given: A clear, thorough description of the type of review you will give. Provide links to some sample reviews of yours, if you can.

Things to Include:
- How long and in-depth are your reviews generally?
- Do you quote parts and comment on them as you go, or just write your thoughts in paragraph form after you've finished reading?
- What elements of storytelling do you focus on? [e.g. plot, characters, humour, style, grammar, etc.]
- How critical are you? Do you focus on the negatives or praise the good parts? Be honest.
- Do you tend to speculate on the story?
- For chaptered works, do you review chapter by chapter, or read the whole thing first and then write a single review?

If you offer many different types of reviews or will adapt some aspects to the other participant's wishes, say so (if you have discrete types of reviews, list details for them all, preferably giving a linked sample of each type; otherwise, just note where you're flexible), and the closed participant can specify more precisely what they want when they review you. Also specify if some aspects vary depending on the review you receive: for instance, if you'll write an in-depth review only if the other participant reviewed you with an in-depth review, say so.

Reviews Wanted: What kinds of reviews will you accept as sufficient to reciprocate? Describe how long, in-depth or critical you want the reviews you get to be, if you'd prefer quoting piece by piece or a summarized paragraph format, particular aspects (e.g. the plot, chapter 12) you'd especially like to get feedback on, and so on. This doesn't need to be as detailed as the above; if you're willing to accept any non-one-liner, for instance (and still reciprocate according to what you specified above), that's fine too. Keep in mind that if you want something very long and in-depth, but will only give something short and basic in return, people aren't likely to be willing to expend that much effort for so comparatively little reward; it usually pays to give reviews at least as long and detailed as the ones you want.

Story Qualifiers: If you're unwilling to read and review a certain genre, rating, or fics meeting any other particular criteria (e.g. you won't read romance, or you won't read journey fics, or you won't read anything with fake Pokémon or Pokémorphs, or you won't read anything that's more than ten chapters in), note so here so that closed participants won't bother reviewing you if you'd be unwilling to review their works in return. If you forget to specify here that you won't read something and then somebody reviews you whose only fics are something you absolutely won't read, you'll have to work that out with them, but to prevent further mistakes, you should then immediately update your post to add what you forgot.

Reciprocates Within: A time window within which you feel confident you can guarantee a return review. A shorter time window makes people more likely to review you, thanks to the promise of a swift reward, but it also puts more pressure on you. If you're going to be absent or busy and know you won't be able to make deadlines for a time, edit your post to explain it and modify the time window; if you're going to be away long enough to want to temporarily withdraw from the review exchange, however, PM one of the thread supervisors to be removed from the requests queue and edit your status to Closed. If somebody has already reviewed you and some circumstances or other make you fear you won't be able to make the deadline for this particular instance, work it out with them via PM.

Referrals (optional): You may specify the names of other members who will vouch for your reliability here. This is not required, but it can make people more likely to trust that you'll reciprocate. Closed participants you've reviewed may add themselves to this list if they wish; Dragonfree will handle adding them into your post.

Completed Exchanges: Initially empty, but as you complete review exchanges, you should add links to your reviews here. The more exchanges you've faithfully completed, the more reason closed participants have to trust you, and therefore the more reason they have to pick you over the other open participants, so it's in your best interests to keep this updated.

Upon the completion of the form, the thread supervisors will put a link to your post at the bottom of the New part of the requests queue. Now you simply wait until a closed participant posts a review exchange review to one of your stories.

When you receive a review that's part of the review exchange, you will be removed from the requests queue. This is to prevent multiple people reviewing somebody who turns out not to reciprocate and to give you extra incentive to complete your return review swiftly. If you find that the review you received is unacceptable due to clearly not meeting your guidelines, you may PM a thread supervisor with a link to the review and an explanation of why it doesn't meet the guidelines, and if they deem it justified, they will put you back on the requests queue without you reviewing back. Similar rules apply if the fics they give for you to review don't meet the specifications from your post. However, if you seem to be repeatedly reaching for excuses to not reciprocate, you may be banned from open participation altogether, so do this sparingly, only when it is plain the reviewer utterly failed to follow your guidelines. Otherwise, try to work it out personally with the reviewer by PM.

Of course, in most cases the review you get will hopefully meet your guidelines just fine, and you will have the time you specified in your post to read and review one of the works provided in the review. If the work is especially long and you need more time, or real-life circumstances are causing you to be late, or for one reason or another you feel the need to deviate from your stated review format for this particular work (for instance, if you specified that you review chapter by chapter but this is a fifty-chapter epic and doing so would just be impossible), again, work that out with your reviewer by PM. If they're being completely unreasonable about it, you can PM a thread supervisor to explain the situation and have them rule on it, but this shouldn't usually be needed.

Once you post your review, you should add a link to it to your post here under "Completed Exchanges", and also PM a link to one of the thread supervisors to have yourself added back onto the requests queue, this time at the bottom of the Veteran category (of course, if you don't wish to get any more reviews and just want to quit for now, you don't need to do this). As those above you do exchanges and get moved to the bottom of the queue, you will move upwards to a higher priority and hopefully get many more reviews.

If at any point you wish to resign from open participation in the review exchange, permanently or temporarily, change the "Status" in your post to CLOSED and PM a thread supervisor to remove you from the requests queue if you're on it.

PROCESS (CLOSED PARTICIPATION)

As a closed participant, you don't have to post anything or declare yourself; all you have to do is check out the requests queue and pick an author to review.

The queue is split into new and veteran sections; as the names would imply, the new section contains open participants who are new to the review exchange and have yet to exchange any reviews, whereas the veteran section contains those who have completed one or more exchanges already. Though veterans have the benefit of having proven themselves reliable already, you are very much encouraged to review the newbies; the reason they haven't proven themselves, after all, is simply that they haven't gotten the chance yet. Within each queue, those at the top are the ones that have been waiting longest without a review, and thus, if choosing between offers that sound about equally good, you should go for the one that's higher in the queue. If something confuses you in someone's guidelines or you just want to be absolutely sure they'd accept your fic or reviewing style, you can contact them to ask for clarification before reading, but this is not required and shouldn't be necessary in most cases.

Once you have chosen a story to review, having made sure to read the author's guidelines carefully, just read it on your own time and compose a review that fits the specifications. Finally, post it in the fic's thread, including the necessary information for the author to review you back at the beginning or end of your post. Though you aren't required to use this exact template, it's a good guide for what to include:

This is a review exchange review.Fics: Link to the fic you'd like the author to review in return, or if you have several and don't mind which, list them all with a brief summary of each.Review Wanted: If the author has multiple types of reviews or is otherwise flexible, specify your preferences for the return review here.

When you have posted your review, PM one of the supervisors of the review exchange with a link to your review, and they will change the author's status to EXCHANGING and remove them from the requests queue. Then simply wait for the author to reciprocate. If the time they gave in the "Reciprocates Within" section of their post here has passed without a peep, PM them about it to ask what's going on, and check their post here again to make sure they didn't go on vacation sometime between the time you read their post and the time you posted your review or something.

If the author either refuses to reciprocate for petty reasons or their return review doesn't meet the promises made in their post here, you may PM a review exchange supervisor to complain, linking to the reviews and explaining the situation. However, try to resolve things with them first. It's easier.

Of course, in most cases you'll hopefully get a review to your satisfaction, in which case this exchange is done and you can go find another fic to review. If you find the author's conduct exemplary and are willing to vouch for them, you may PM Dragonfree to have yourself added as a referral to their post.

The rules of conduct in the review exchange are simple and straightforward and can be summed up with "don't be a jerk", but here they are laid out in a somewhat more orderly fashion:

THE COMMANDMENTS

~ Thou shalt remain polite, patient and understanding. If you're an open participant and nobody's reviewed you yet, don't whine about it. If you're a closed participant and the author you reviewed just failed to meet their deadline, don't flip out; just PM them a poke to see what's going on, and respect that their other commitments might interfere with their reviewing. Accept sincere apologies. Don't put extra pressure on someone who's already stressed out.

~ Thou shalt give thy reviewers the benefit of the doubt. If the review isn't quite as insightful as you'd hoped, but they clearly did their absolute best to follow the guidelines, don't turn your nose up at them. If you're an open participant, only outright refuse to reciprocate if it's plain the reviewer put little to no effort into reading your rules and meeting your standards. If you're a closed participant, don't jump up to complain unless it's a very clear case of false advertising. Help your reviewer improve their review by giving them pointers by all means, but don't treat it as betrayal if it was clearly made in good faith.

~ Thou shalt try to resolve misunderstandings peacefully. If you're an open participant and get a perfectly good review but their fic isn't something you'd read, it is better to PM them to explain, and perhaps offer to review them in the future if they write something you would be willing to read, than to just refuse, even if the mistake is theirs. If you're a closed participant and it turns out the author you reviewed actually forgot to mention they absolutely can't read your fic or they can't review it quite the way they specified, be sympathetic as far as you possibly can. Always be ready to compromise a bit to come to a mutually satisfying agreement. Refusal and complaining to the supervisors is best used as a last resort, even when you're in the right.

REQUESTS QUEUE - FOR OPEN, UNPAIRED REQUESTS

Please note that when there are a lot of people on this list, you're better off being a closed participant than an open one. Check out the reviewers below and find somebody who suits you to review, instead of applying for open participation and getting lost in the crowd.

If you have any further suggestions regarding the running of the Exchange, don't be afraid to PM us! This is a Beta model after all; it will be susceptible to change and updates, as we become more aware on how to actually run this thing.

A final model will solidify once we understand the intricacies and little tweaks that we can learn only through practical work.

Fics:Shiny Expert: Xander: Chaptered This is a fic that deals with an aspiring pokemon professor that specializes in shiny pokemon. There are multiple story arcs, but currently only the first one is up. It is 12 chapters long, so far, and each chapter is, on average, 2,000 words.
Pokemon Professor X.: Chaptered. This is a sequel to my first one that takes place roughly four years after the begining of the first one. In this one, Xander is a full blown pokemon professor. About 5,000 words per chapter.

Reviews Given:I will give reviews of medium length, and will go into a bit of depth. I won't quote particularly often, unless I need to to get a point across. I take the story as a whole, and don't focus on one aspect of storytelling. I'm not super critical, but I will tell you what I think is wrong with the fic in the most polite way that I can. I'll go chapter by chapter and tell you what I like, and didn't like about each one.

Reviews Wanted: I only expect what I give in return, so basically what you give me is what I'll give back to the best of my abilities.

Story Qualifiers:I won't do R rated fics, or ones that contain fakemon or pokemorphs.

Reciprocates Within:I promise that I will read at least one chapter a day, but more if I can fit it in. So however many chapters are currently in your fic is the maximum number of days that it'll take me to get the review out. However, it is likely to be much less as I have a fair amount of free time.

Referrals (optional):

Completed Exchanges: None

Last edited by Xman96; 14th May 2012 at 9:12 PM.

3DS FC:0533-4900-6084

Before you criticize someone walk a mile in thier shoes, that way, when you criticize them, you are a mile away, and you have thier shoes.

Shiny Expert: Xander
After Xander loses the Unova League, he gets a mysterious call from Prof. Rowan saying that he must come back and see what he's found. Xander has no idea what's in store for him.

Reviews Given: Intricate with detailed suggestions for improvement, but utterly ruthless and honest. Those without bravery, full confidence in their work or (not and) the mentality to survive a verbal lashing need not apply. My reviews may be set to the hardest difficulty level, but by the time your story gets through it, the only thing remaining will be sheer brilliance! Aim for the top!

Reviews Wanted: Anything, really. Just, you know, read one of the stories and tell me what you think.

Story Qualifiers: Again, anything. I'm picky, but not prejudiced and open for pretty much anything.

Reciprocates Within: A very, very short amount of time. Expect a response the same day, although unforeseeable hindrances might cause delays. If you haven't received a review within a week, consider me dead.

Referrals:The Story of Cynthia by Sgeckledorf Spoongeblorb and System of Variables by Rediamond. Yeah, that's it.

Fics:Morphic: A few scientists get drunk and start fiddling with gene splicing. Ten years later, they're taking care of eight half-Pokémon kids, each freakier than the next, while a religious fanatic plots to murder them all. Completed, fourteen chapters (totaling ~50,000 words) plus a few optional extras. Note that despite the silliness of the premise, this somehow ends up being a dark, depressing drama, so if you're looking for a light read, don't be fooled by the summary.

Reviews Given: I'm usually quite in-depth, and my praise-to-criticism ratio tends to be pretty stream-of-consciousness: I comment on pretty much everything that bothers me and everything that stands out to me as especially good (though since I generally have more to say about the nitpicks, those tend to take the front seat). Otherwise my manner of reviewing depends on the fic, how much in it I feel the need to comment on and how long it is.

For example, this is how I review a chapterfic I have a lot to say about - quotes, chapter by chapter, speculation and general comments on the plot where it catches my interest, way ultralong. Meanwhile, for a one-shot I'm more likely to read the whole thing before starting the review, and then it'll be somewhat shorter and a lot less quote-heavy; this is me reviewing a one-shot I liked. If your review is relatively brief, though, I'll go with a more condensed form (more like the one-shot) even for a chapterfic, writing the review after I finish reading and only quoting if there's something about the quote I really need to mention. You can also just specify that you'd rather get such a condensed review if you want.

I'm quite blunt about what bothers me, so be warned. If your work leaves me unimpressed, I will not pretend to be impressed, and even if I like your work on the whole, if I think something is really detracting from it, you will know that I think it's really detracting from it. (The chapterfic I was reviewing in my first example? Is one of my absolute favorite fics, but that didn't stop me from ranting about the things that annoyed me in it.) If I completely adore some things and really dislike others, the end result won't be a sort of mellow mediumish tone, but instead a wildly bipolar jumble jumping erratically between overenthusiastic fangirling over the good bits and vicious tearing apart of the parts I don't like. Keep this in mind and don't take it personally when I'm critical.

This is not a complete list; sometimes I'll notice something completely different for one reason or another. Generally, whenever I point something out, I will do my best to explain as thoroughly as possible why this thing is good or bad. Sometimes I already know and it'll be short and to-the-point; other times I have to think about it to try to pinpoint it, or it strikes me as an example of some general principle I've never put into words before, and then I can go into a bit of a ramble about that one thing trying to articulate what's wrong with it (or good, as the case may be). My hope would be that this results in my reviews being very helpful, as my criticisms generally won't be vague "I didn't like this part" but instead something that should make you understand the problem, from which generally follows an understanding of how it might be rectified.

Reviews Wanted: Anything reasonably insightful and longer than a few lines, but the shorter your review is, the shorter mine will be. By "insightful" I mean you have something unique and interesting to say, rather than just "wow! write more!" or "eh, I didn't like it". If you like something, elaborate on why you liked it, what made you realize you liked it, what you especially liked about it; if you dislike something, try to pinpoint what bothered you and explain it so that I can understand your point of view and avoid the mistake in the future. As far as you can, don't just tell me what you think; tell me why.

Story Qualifiers: I'm not good with catching up with anything long, so please stick to fics that are currently five chapters or less. I realize Morphic is fourteen chapters so there's a bit of an asymmetry there, but in return I'll try to make my review at least somewhat more in-depth than yours if I possibly can. I'm also not very interested in the main characters of the anime or in romance, though I don't mind the latter as an element of the plot, only when it's the main plot. So no Ash and company and no primarily-romance.

Reciprocates Within: I'll try to post the review within a week of receiving yours, but if it ends up extremely long I might take longer than that.

Last edited by Dragonfree; 2nd August 2011 at 3:41 PM.
Reason: Making it a slightly better example by going into more detail

Chapter 64: Hide and Seek
The story of an ordinary boy on an impossible quest in a world that isn't as black and white as he always thought it was.(rough draft of the remaining chapters finished for NaNoWriMo; to be edited and posted)

Morphic(completed, plus silly extras)
A few scientists get drunk and start fiddling with gene splicing. Ten years later, they're taking care of eight half-Pokémon kids, each freakier than the next, while a religious fanatic plots to murder them all.

Fics:Pokemon: The Magic of a Melody--When a young mage named Ash befriends a very special minstrel that can sing magic, the ensuing quest teaches him what it really means to be a hero. (Chaptered--30 episodes so far, 61,623 words so far)

The Traveler's Tales: A Minstrel's Journey--Set two years before Magic of a Melody, Brock sets out on a fantastic journey to both see the world and pay respects to his fallen mentor by immersing himself in the folklore of Yoso (Chaptered--10 episodes so far, 18,169 words so far)

Reviews Given: The more things I can find in the story to discuss, the more I will write. At the very least, I will give you the positives first, followed by constructive criticism. But if I see something that stands out (good or bad), I will elaborate on it (if it is good) or give you suggestions to improve (if it is bad)

Reviews Wanted: At least what you liked and didn't like, why you liked what you liked, and how I can fix what you didn't like.

Story Qualifiers: I will read fantasy/magical girl (extra points if it's in another world), adventure, comedy (reasonably clean), and slice of life fics. Romance, horror and dark fics are out of the question (but I will make an exception if it's in a subgenre I will read or if it is well done)

Reciprocates Within: The same day the request is received to several days at the maximum

Reviews Given:
I try to give reviews that are not only nitpicky on things such as grammar, but also discuss and call into questions characters and their actions and the relevance of their actions as it relates to their motivation; anything that may cause an unintentional jarring shift in the tone to name one example. Just getting down to how synergetic the story is.

Reviews Wanted:
Something along the lines of what i want. Not simply a few lines and telling me every grammar mistake. Go deeper than that.

Story Qualifiers:
No fakemon. Something that isnt already like 10+ chapters long.

New Rule: Everybody (Open and Closed) must indicate whether their story is a Chaptered or One-shot/Two-shot, on top of an approximation of length. It's one of the first thing that a Closed Participant would look for, I think.

ShadedSkies, your Status will be changed when Dragonfree becomes free. And congratulations on conducting the first proper Exchange with Rediamond!

FlamingRuby, Bright Side, you both forwent the previous rule of stating the length of each of your stories. Please, correct your entires.

Last edited by Draco Malfoy; 16th July 2011 at 8:50 AM.

Under the Same Sky - PG-15||Completed

Memorandum to UtSS:"A Deathless Prelude".FF.net Profile//Quote-of-the-month: “History is much like an endless waltz. The three beats of war, peace and revolution continue on forever.”

Fics: System of Variables (sig)
Chapter fic: 5 chapters, 20K+ words
It's just a normal journey through Kanto. At least, it was supposed to be... when a dark side of the government is exposed, a League crackdown sparks even more resistance, lighting the flames of a full on revolution. But is fighting for others enough of a reason to fight?

It's currently on (permanent) hiatus, but I'm still lurking and working on my next fic (and might even continue system if anyone actually reads it...), so advice is welcome.

Reviews Given: I tend to comment about equally on praise and criticism. Praise will list a few things without much detail, commentary on perceived problems can be quite long, but I try to give a way to get around it and improve instead of simply pointing it out.

Reviews Wanted: Preferably criticism with some way I can actually do better. Normal criticism works if it's specific.

Story Qualifiers: I'll do anything, just expect longer fics to take longer to get a response.

Fics: The Pokemon Saga This fic will follow the adventures of many (not sure how many yet) wild Pokemon as events in the Pokemon world play out. Not much human involvement in this fic. It is a chapter fic, and currently is four chapters long, and before edits, was over 5,000 words.Reviews Given: I'll try to be short, sweet, and to the point, but I may quote a bunch of things in the fic as well. I mostly focus on the plot of the storytelling, but if it is humourous, then I'll be sure to mention that as well. I usually am not that critical of fan fics, because I'm just a beginner myself. I'm quick to praise, but may point out a thing or two that could be improved. I don't tend to speculate on the story, but I might if I REALLY like it. For chaptered fics, I read chapter by chapter and review each one individually.

Reviews Wanted: I don't care how harsh or good the review is. I just want to see what people think of my story. I would like you to focus on reviewing the plot of the story, because I'm writing my story for a good plot.

Story Qualifiers: I'll read anything, as long as it's not more than 10 chapters in.

Reciprocates Within: I can definitely get a review done within the next 24 hours.

Fics: The Kanto Story: Robert armas adventures This fic, follows the adventure of my OC Robert. Going through the kanto region, to prove to everyone that he isn't his brothers shadow. Along his journey. He learns that there are more things, then proven yourself that your the best. This story is a Chapter fic and a Journey fic, haves about 17 Chapters done.

Reviews Given: I'm still new to reviewing, but lately, I seem to be into Characters and Story plots that in story. But some times, I will review xomething that I will like and/or that will catch my attention. I will review a chapter fic, in 1 chapter at a time.

Reviews Wanted: What ever floats your boat. Just don't give me hate reviews and just tell me whats wrong. I will accept good and bad responses, that will help me improve. Character and Plot is mostly what I want to see lol.

Story Qualifiers: I will read anything random. But nothing rating above PG-13. No R rated stories or Fakemons.

Reciprocates Within: I will review any time of the week. Useually during Afternoon and Evening.

Referrals (optional):

Completed Exchanges: None

Last edited by Trainer Robert; 23rd July 2011 at 1:42 AM.

A Boys quest to prove he isn't his brothers shadow. Along his journey, he learns that there are more things. Than being the best of the best.

Reviews Given: I will review mostly on things such as detail or characters. Because I am younger, I will throw in a grammar mistake I catch but don't expect too many.

Reviews Wanted: I want goods and bads. If you could also find grammar mistakes, could you please show me what was wrong and how to fix it?

Story Qualifiers: I will review mostly journey fics, but I can review pretty much anything. Please nothing currently longer than 10-12 chapters.

Reciprocates Within: I will begin reading and putting together a review as soon as I read your review and fix mistakes. So pretty quickly after you finish. Longer fics will take longer to review, mind you.

Fics: The Rebirth of Sinnoh - Volkner's Tale: A young Volkner Sune is thrown into a foreign world by an oddly supernatural event. He is forced to figure out what happened, and more importantly, why.

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, the children are playing and we're all going to die: Maya Collins is a sixteen year old girl living her life in quiet, thoughtful anecdotes. One day, however, after being assaulted for a misunderstanding, she is compelled to learn how to defend herself, finding an online job offer under the renowned Timothy Reh - also known as the Turtle Hermit. With Lloyd Hensen and other zany cast, hilarity, tears and action ensue in this Dragon Ball Z original-character fan fiction.

Reviews Given: I tend to comment as I go along, quoting the things I like, quoting errors and things I don't like, telling you how to fix the errors and explaining and giving advice over things I don't like. I will also comment on all other aspects of the story if necessary - if a character is 2-D, a plot line has a hole in it, things like that... expect to hear about it.

Reviews Wanted: Simple enough, I'd just like someone who would be willing to tell me the things they do and don't like about the story, as well as quote (for an easier find - I'm lazy sometimes, sue me ;- and tell how to fix errors they find.

Story Qualifiers: Pokemorph, real-life-to-Poke-universe, Fakemon, anything more than 20-30 chapters in is a no-no.

Reciprocates Within: I'm usually on the computer anywhere from 3:00 PM EST to 1:00 AM EST any day of the week. I'm a geek, sue me. ;-; Of course, give me some time to read things: for longer fan fics I could get you back anywhere in the time range after a couple of days, or for shorter (1-5 chapters) I could get you back in a day or two at the latest.

Completed Exchanges: None

Though probably obvious with the picture, I was formerly known as IanDonyer. Actually got a username closer to my real name, now.

You don't need to switch (though you're certainly allowed to); if you feel like reviewing somebody first, you can do that whether you're also an open participant or not. If you do want to quit open participation, you should edit the status in your post.

You also don't need to post here to tell IanDonyer you're going to review him; just post your review and link to your story there.

Chapter 64: Hide and Seek
The story of an ordinary boy on an impossible quest in a world that isn't as black and white as he always thought it was.(rough draft of the remaining chapters finished for NaNoWriMo; to be edited and posted)

Morphic(completed, plus silly extras)
A few scientists get drunk and start fiddling with gene splicing. Ten years later, they're taking care of eight half-Pokémon kids, each freakier than the next, while a religious fanatic plots to murder them all.

The Journeymen A chaptered Pokemon fan fiction loosely based on the 'Non-competitive trainer's hangout mk. II's' own league. After being crowned Unova champion, Raj is unsure of his true calling, opting to travel and find out by learning various lessons about what it means to be a trainer. After a fierce battle with Red atop Mt. Silver, the focus switches to the conception of 'The Journeymen', an alternative Pokemon League formed to test only the most talented trainers, and the individual insights of its members, culminating in their unity to fight off a devastating threat to the Pokemon World.

NOTE: There is a handy chapter listing on the first post so you don't have to scour through lots of posts, use it to your advantage! 17 chapters so far!

NEW CHAPTERS ARE BEING ADDED VERY SLOWLY DUE TO ME TAKING THE DECISION TO REVISIT THE OLDER CHAPTERS AND 'RE-WRITE' JOURNEYMEN. SO IF YOU DECIDE TO POST A REVIEW THE CONTENT IS HIGHLY SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

Reviews Given: I'll endeavour to read all of the chapters of a given fic before commenting, giving a general overview of what I think of it. I tend to focus most on description/detail and characterisation, along with critiquing dialogue and how well it flows/fits with each individual. I won't sugar coat anything so don't be upset if I tell you outright that your fic left me unimpressed. Another big area of mine is consistency, I will point out where any flaws or strengths lie in your consistency between sentences, paragraphs, chapters and in your story's own little universe

Reviews Wanted: Preferably any help on grammatical issues but mostly I'd like to know where any description, beginnings or endings fall flat. I would like to learn what makes my characters convincing and would appreciate any comments detailing why they lack any humanity. I'm seeking to improve my fight choreography during Pokemon battles also.

Story Qualifiers: No R rated, shipping, fakemon or Pokemorphs.

Reciprocates Within: I'll try to get back to you within a week of you reviewing me.

Fics: Pokemon Orian Adventures - Rising (Chaptered). It is the story of a young boy who meets the ex-champion of orian, the region where they both live. The champion hides his identity, and gives the boy, Ryan, a pokemon from a different region after he breaks his leg in one of the champion's pokemon traps. Then the champion travels with Ryan through the region, though neither are very fond of the other, and Ryan doesn't know why Xavier is coming.

Reviews Given: I review on how gripping the story actually is, sharing my opinions on whether it's "un-scroll-downable (good)" or not so much.

Reviews Wanted: I want to know everything - how the reader felt at which points, what needs to be redone, how to improve the story, strengths and weaknesses, etc.

Story Qualifiers: Nothing inappropriate for my age (14), and no stories about the canon characters, unless the story is not about the game story

Reciprocates Within: As soon as I see the review (I check a lot, so probably a few hours at most, if I'm not asleep at the time).

Reviews Given: My reviews aren't the longest, nor are they the most in depth, but they hit the essentials and are more on the actual story itself than grammar (which I, frankly, suck at). I'm also brutally honest and if I don't like something I will come out and say it, but it is all meant to help you better yourself.

Reviews Wanted: Anything helpful really. I suck at grammar, so maybe some help on that. Really, anything helpful is fine.

Story Qualifiers: I'll read anything of any rating and most any genre, but I refuse to read something that is canon character-centric (Basing a fic around one of the game characters doesn't really fit here, I mean I'll gladly read something about Joey and his Rattata, but I won't read something about Ash or Pikachu or any of them.) or really shippy. I also forgot until right now, I won't read anything with fakemon because I simply do not like fakemon.

Reciprocates Within: One to two days. I'm on a lot, so it won't take long.

Tobias watched, perplexed, as the growlithe cub scrambled through the knee-high grass, struggling to maintain his human form, hands trembling as he thrust a path through the field. The toll the effort was taking was clear in the strain contorting his features - the Cobalion could hear his involuntary yelps from where he sat - yet the boy was still moving, striving, pushing forward in his attempt to successfully traverse the field.

A flicker of electricity wrinkled discontentedly across Tobias's skin at the sight.

Why?

The child was fighting against his lineage, his blood: such transformations were difficult even for the nobile, but nevertheless a cub struggled to maintain it, despite his natural weakness, all for the sake of a human-

A sputter of flame caught his attention, and his gaze sharpened as the pup's pace further slowed, those trembling hands reaching and failing to grip the surrounding reeds. Faltering a few steps from the river’s edge, the child collapsed with a yelp, small limbs twitching and jerking as he subsided back into the form of a growlithe, blue flashes of flame claiming his human flesh.

The great stag curled his lips back in distaste as the sour scent of the growlithe's pain once again flooded the breeze, tainting the evening air.

The boy was a fool.

[Yes, this doesn't actually appear in the 'fic if anyone wonders - I wrote this as a little aside for after the third chapter. ;x]

Current Chapters: 3Current Word count: Around 5000/6000 words.

Reviews Given: Detailed, focusing on characterisation, story development, grammar and spelling, writing style and, if needed, specifics such as description.

Reviews Wanted: Constructive criticism is always appreciated, as is detail. :3 There is nothing in particular I want focused on.

Story Qualifiers: I'm open to anything within the Pokemon fandom, and other, select fandoms - message me if you have any questions.

Fics:Hero's Path: Cole, a member of the storied Journeymen League, embarks on a new quest to rediscover his inner fire after the Omega War. Accompanied only by six trusted pokemon, he tries to escape the demons of his past as he journeys towards the Edge of the World.

Reviews Given: I follow the Fictionpress Review Game Depth requirement in all my reviews. It can be found [http://forum.fictionpress.com/topic/1867/136506/1/]here[/url]. Also, I will never use "No spelling and grammar issues, good job," as a review point. That's cheating my system, and I'm a man of my honor.
I may seem a little overly-critical in my reviews, but I'm not being harsh. I simply believe that if you sugarcoat and soften your blows, the message will not go through. Also, I try to balance every critique with something I liked.

Reviews Wanted: I expect what I give, or at least a review of a decent length that addresses points to improve/fix/what have you.

Story Qualifiers: I don't like fakemon, nor do I fully understand the concept of pokemorphs, so I won't review anything like that, simply because my review would come off as negatively biased. I also don't particularly care for fics where the only plot is romance. I have nothing against romantic subplots, but... I find full-out romance rather dull. However, I love journey fics, so I'm happy to review those.

Reciprocates Within: Usually within 24-48 hours. But in incredibly rare circumstances, I'll play it safe and say four days.

Fics:AvariceAlexis Palmers is just your average 17 year old girl in the Pokemon world except for one thing; she has never been on a Pokemon Journey. She really wants to prove herself as a capable young lady but her dad won't let her. When she moves to the region of Arcana she discovers that the trainers there use an illegal steroid to boost their Pokemon's performance with sometimes fatal results. Now Alexis must prove herself as she joins the fight to keep the steroid usage from getting any more out of hand than it already is.

Chapters: 4 so far. About 11,000 words so far.

Reviews Given: My reviews are usually short and to the point. I tend to quote things if I see an error of some sort. Plots and characterizations are my focus points. I mainly look for uniqueness, consistency and believable events. I only point out grammar and spelling if it's something glaringly obvious like "Pekachu went to da park". Sometimes I do speculate on stories. I'm a pretty positive reviewer and I will point out both good and bad points. I'm not a harsh reviewer in any sense of the word. I am a beginning writer and reviewer just to let you know.

Reviews Wanted: I want reviews that focus on plot and grammar, especially grammar since I admit it is one of my weakness. They shouldn't be long since I'm not a long reviewer. Fair is fair after all. As much as I love praise, if there is something I really screwed up on please tell me.

Story Qualifiers: Anything Pokemon related. If it's a crossover or non-Pokemon story please let me review the story first since I'm not into a lot of fandoms.

Reciprocates Within: I should reply within 2 days of receiving a review. However if I don't please don't hesitate to PM or VM me to remind me.

A war is brewing, although most of our world remains oblivious to this fact. One species; so beautiful, so powerful, so tightly controlled, are breaking the chains that had unconsciously enslaved them for millennia. As a man struggles to regain what is lost, for the sake of humanity, taking the upper hand, he can't help but wonder: who, really, are the righteous - us or them?

Excerpt:

The only thing he could concentrate on was the lavender scent of her breath as it whispered in a light huff across his face; the softness of her lips as they drew close enough to touch his and the taste of her tongue, twisting his mind into knots. A quick breath, before he drew her even closer, fingers smoothing up warm skin to entwine in her hair, before gripping relentlessly, pushing, heart racing, as their pauses for breath grew more erratic and far between-

Second:Meddling with Time. A small serial, two chapters thus far. A stumbling, accident prone tale of love and mistakes, where time is relative and everything. It plays freely within it's own timeline.

Reviews Given: My reviewing style starts as your practical beta; any typos, grammar, and spelling, any aesthetic problems either quoted or highlighted in my review. I will be as thorough as possible. After that, I go more in depth, into any small or glaring issues which may disrupt the telling of the story or just don't make sense - but I'm as nice as possible about it, my bite is worse than my bark. xD My main concerns that I focus on in my review is characterisation, and belief. Cliches and simple, predictable stories are my gripe. Also, purple prose, or anything that detracts from the actual story - I will be honest, completely, but it will be constructive, and always aimed at helping improve a fic. xD

If I love your story, then all the wonderful things about it will be highlighted, with any additional comments and tips to go with it. I'm a Frank, friendly individual, and I hope my review will be appreciated. >u<

If I really like your fiction, you will receive fanart. 8D See Katiekitten's signature for an example, my own signature, or my deviantart.

Please, nothing over five chapters, unless you message me first, and I take a peak at your story and get back to you. I don't want to read twenty chapters of something I dislike, and you don't want a nasty review because you reviewed two chapters of my lovely short fiction. Please. >__<

ALSO. I spend around two hours on my reviews on any fiction below my maximum chapter limit, five chapters. If you aren't prepared to give me the same dedication, I will [u]decline[u] your review as a part of this thread.

Reviews Given:
A short paragraphs worth describing what I liked about it and what needs to be improved. I'm perhaps not the best writer as I'm only getting started, but I know a good story when I see one. From over a line to several.

Reviews Wanted:
I don't care as long as It makes sense and is not just garbage like 'u nedz moar gramer' and actually is constructive.